Gravesford
Gravesford is a village situated at the edge of civilization, as far as the Barony of Bedegar is concerned at least. There’s been a bridge across the River Graves, and a town around that, for as long as anyone can remember and as far back as any records go. Folks know, or believe, that the bridge and the Reluctant Pig existed long before any other house in Gravesford, even the church, was built.
As in any countryside town, everyone in Gravesford knows everyone else, and word is quick to spread. If newcomers, like the Champions of Destiny when they arrived, arrive in town and spend the night in the local inn, odds are the entire population of two-hundred-odd villagers including nearby farmers will know by mid-morning. The town’s two public buildings, the Reluctant Pig and the Church of St. Gaed the Confessor, are large enough for the entire town to crowd into for major celebrations like the harvest-tide feast and candle festival of St. Gaed’s Feast.
Government
The town is ran by a mayor who conforms to a council of the most affluent among villagers. The town's fealty is owed to the Barony of Bedegar, a castle maintained within the border wall of Sundabar.
As of 1479 DR, the town council is technically Mayor Osric, Jago, Morgouse, Giselle, and a farmer named Carroc. Carroc is an ass and lives on his farm, so the others conspire to meet and decide things when they know he’ll be busy. Millicent, Belle, and Hamm are villeins of the Baron and have no legal rights to their shops or land, but folks in town tend to forget this, so they’re always part of any decision. Gowan can’t be arsed to worry about local politics, he’s got fowl to braise.
The town has no local law enforcement, but folk do well enough without it; they have a volunteer militia that assembles when ordered by the town council. They pay their taxes to the Baron of Bedegar and gain the benefits of trade and roadways that all citizens of Sundabar's influence enjoy. Otherwise, they are a community small enough to take care of themselves.
Defences
Gravesford is at the edge of the Forest Rend, a lawless wood where inhuman creatures roam. None dare go deeper into the forest than is necessary to hunt game or chop wood. Legends say that orcs and goblins and other nasty bogeymen lurk in the forest, and that is enough to keep people away.
Infrastructure
A large inn, a stone church, a river bridge, and a distant castle in the nearby forest.
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